


The Little Things

by 100_Letters, ohpi



Category: Biohazard | Resident Evil (Gameverse), Resident Evil - All Media Types
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-02
Updated: 2018-06-11
Packaged: 2018-12-23 03:32:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11981241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/100_Letters/pseuds/100_Letters, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohpi/pseuds/ohpi
Summary: Moira fell in love at a young age, and now she's ready to take a chance.





	1. The Beginning

The Redfields have always been close with the Burtons. It’s just a known fact. Absolutely no connections between the two families, but that didn’t stop them from coming together every year. There was never a year that Everyone from both sides were there. Some people couldn’t make it due to work or school, or simply other obligations they had to do. Unfortunately, Claire had never been to one of the get-togethers with the Burtons. She was busy training with Chris whenever he was home, or with school, or trying to spend as much time with her friends as she could. She still knows all the Burtons, but she was never big on wearing a ‘One Big Family’ shirt that matched everyone while they were in the ballpark.

Claire, who had finally reached 20 and all her friends are across country in college, didn’t have anything else better to do. So she went over to Barry’s house, immediately being greeted with a ‘Barry Hug’

“Claire! You made it! Ahah! I knew I’d get you to come eventually!’ Barry exclaims, wearing a red and green _Burtonfield_ sweater.

“Yeah, I mean… I didn’t have much else planned for Christmas. It’s not like I have to visit my boyfriend’s house because luckily I’m a single pringle.” Claire says with a chuckle as Kathy ended up handing her a sweater.

 _‘This is hideous’_ Claire thought to herself as she slipped it on over her head with a smile. She speaks to Kathy for a few minutes as Barry went to continue his conversation with Claire’s father. Once Claire manages to find an opening and escape anymore conversation about why she never came to a get-together before, she went to go out back. The ground had a thick layer of snow, and that’s exactly what the kids were busy with. Moira Burton, who was only 8, was busy building a snowman with her sister.

“Who’re you?” Moira asks, adorned in a thick snow jacket, gloves, hat, and scarf to keep her warm. Barely showing anything besides her eyes, pink nose, and cheekbones.

“Claire Redfield.” She says, walking over and kneeling down beside the little girl. “Need any help? I can go get a carrot nose for you.”

This confused Moira a bit, was this the Claire that her dad always talked about?

“Please do! Dad doesn’t want us in the kitchen while people are cooking.” Moira says, but turns her back to Claire to continue building her snowman.

* * *

 

Moira laughs at the memory now. Who knew that would lead to a life long crush on a woman who was years older than her? It’s been twelve years since the first time she met Claire, and she’s still as infatuated with her as she was when she was 8. She wasn’t sure if it was Claire’s confidence, her protectiveness, or her humor that made her so, so… attractive. Moira knew that her dad would lose his mind if he found out how she felt about Chris’s baby sister. She was beautiful with her auburn hair and icy eyes, but Moira knew it was more than that. She’s been trying to figure it out ever since Claire brought the carrot out for her snowman, Chlamydia.

_“What?! Where did you get that name from?!” Claire exclaims, trying to hold in her laughter._

_“I saw it in one of mom’s books in her closet. I figured chlamydia is just as pretty a flower as a rose, so I should name it after it! I don’t know what it looks like, but it sounds pretty!”_

The snowman… As embarrassing as it now that she’s older, she still loves that Claire just went along with it. Just like with everything, she was hoping Claire would go along with Moira’s plans for the night. She’s been messaging the older woman a lot lately, and even though she’s been absolutely swamped with work she’s made sure to message Moira whenever she had the chance. As Moira pulled up to Claire’s house, she felt her stomach start tying into knots. She gets out of the car and walked up to the door, ringing the doorbell and waiting. A few moments pass before Claire finally opened the door, looking a bit shocked.

“Hey, I wasn’t expecting visitors.” Claire says, her hair up in a messy ponytail and her attire being sweats and an old ratty t-shirt.

“Well I actually have a surprise. A few surprises, wanna get changed and we can head out?” Moira asks, giving her her usual smile.

Claire hesitated for a minute before letting out a sight.

“I’m sorry, Moira, but I have to answer emails and get things organized.”

“Not right now, you can do that tomorrow.” Moira says, stepping around Claire and immediately making herself at home.

Of course the look on Claire’s face told her that she wasn’t at all happy with Moira’s ‘surprises’, but nonetheless went upstairs to change into some more reasonable clothes. After about twenty minutes, her hair in a signature ponytail, she was ready.

“So what’s first on the list? Because as soon as we get done I need to go back to work.”

“You’ll see.” Claire hated surprises.

After loading up in Moira’s Honda Acura, Moira immediately reached in the back seat and pulled out a single rose handing it to Claire. It was genuine surprise on her face when she took the rose, and immediately looked over at the driver.

“You didn’t do something to this to get me back for something, did you?”

“Nope, I swear.”

As Moira drove in silence, a large smile on her face, Claire was watching her closely. The way her lips curled up in a smile, and the way her hair moved from the window being open. As much as she wanted to continue questioning the motive of Moira, she didn’t. She watched Moira grow up, watched as she had her first boyfriend, first car accident, first girlfriend (Surprisingly Barry questioned the girl the exact same way he did the previous boyfriends), and just how she’s grown as a person. It was the little things that Claire loved to remember, though. How she named a snowman after an STD, the time she was twelve and accidentally took a sip from Claire’s ‘water’ (Of course Barry was wondering why Claire was so happy and accident prone that night), the times she had Claire call faking an emergency so Moira can get out of sticky situations. It was always the small things Claire noticed. Even how Moira always tapped her index finger against her thumb when she gets nervous. As Claire was lost in thought, Moira pulled into a parking place and put the car in park. Claire took a moment to look at where they were. It was the park that Moira used to go to all the time when she was a kid. There was a baseball field, trails to walk around on, plenty of hills and trees providing shade, and of course a playground and bathrooms.

“I made a lunch earlier, so please feel free to complain about my horrible cooking!” Moira laughs, hopping out of the car. Claire was trying to keep up with her as she got in the trunk to pull out the basket that Kathy usually has in the kitchen to hold fruit in.

“Is your mom aware of that?” Claire asks with a smile, and Moira just grinned from ear to ear before she reached for Claire’s hand and start dragging her up a hill.

“Her and Dad are renovating the kitchen, so I doubt they’re going to notice that the apples are in a bowl rather than the basket.”

When they got to the top, Moira reluctantly let go of Claire’s hand to motion for her to sit down. Claire didn’t understand why Moira was acting so out of the blue, but she was definitely enjoying it. Moira sat down besides Claire and took the cloth off the top of the basket to uncover two tupperwares full of what looked like some pasta with white sauce and something green mixed in. Didn’t look the best, but she knew it probably tasted better than it looked. Moira tried asking her about work, but of course Claire gave her the summed up version of what she was having to do. Organize trips to villages down in Africa to help continue cleaning up Wesker’s mess. She knew Moira couldn’t care any less, but it was nice she was trying. As she handed Claire a can of her favorite soda, Grape Crush, and a fork, the lids popped off. Claire was excited to try it, she’s had Moira cook a few times before. As she took a bit of the pasta, she became paralyzed. The sauce tasted like cold, liquid garlic concentrate. Moira was watching Claire, the grin still present.

“So? How is it? I’m not very good, but I tried watching one of those cooking shows.”

Claire forced down what she had in her mouth and smiled, nodding very enthusiastically as she tried to calmly open her soda and take a quick sip.

“Fantastic, but I ended up binge eating an entire pizza right before you showed up. I’ll save the leftovers for tomorrow’s lunch.” That made Moira even happier, until she took a bit and dread covered her face, immediately spitting it out.

“They said to be generous with the garlic… Goddamn, how did I mess that up?” Moira didn’t seem too discouraged. “Either way, there’s still things we have to go do and things to talk about. I won’t let this one slip up ruin the rest of the evening.”

“Alright, alright, but before we leave again are you trying to tell me you applied for TerraSave? I don’t mean to ruin the surprise but Neil told me the moment he saw your application.”

That seemed to have struck something with Moira because her smile depressed a bit, maybe that was the surprise. Claire felt bad, but she desperately needed to get back to work. Moira simply shrugged and lean back in the grass, looking up at the clear blue sky.

“That was definitely something I was going to talk to you about later, but only if I got hired on. If you really want to know what I was wanting to tell you was--”

“You’re not pregnant, are you?”

Moira bursted into laughter and immediately shook her head. This was going to be harder than she thought it’d be. Claire has been there for most of her life, practically had a hand in raising her. Moira always made sure that she’d be her own person, that she’d find her own path in life.

“No, but I’m in love.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey so I figured I'd write something. This is actually really helping me get back into writing, so forgive me if there's mistakes. Half the time I'm just writing and I'll write whatever comes to mind and since I'm a bit scatterbrained, it might end up all over the place. Not to mention I rarely ever go back and proofread my work, so that's definitely something I'll try to start doing. I hope y'all liked this one, I can't wait to write the next chapter. I'm hoping that it'll be up by Saturday at the latest, but I just have to see when I have time to write. Hope y'all have a good day.


	2. The Middle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Claire faces her fears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright so I'm just letting y'all know... I'm actually really disappointed in this chapter. I lost interest and I just don't find it interesting at all. I almost deleted the entire thing to start from scratch, but I was really wanting to write the next chapter because I'm kind of looking forward to it. Anyways... yeah... Sorry for it being all over the place and it being kind of cliche. =/

_“I think I’m in love.”_

Those words kept replaying in her head

_“I think I’m in love with you.”_

Why?

Why did it have to be her?

That was the single question that Claire kept asking herself as she lied in her bed. Moira… She was like, like a family member. She was Barry fucking Burton’s daughter, and he’s like a second father to Claire. She watched Moira grow into the woman that she is today, how can Moira be in love with her? It’s been five days since Moira had taken her on their little outing, and Claire hadn’t spoken to her since. They used to talk everyday, but now how can she face the girl knowing her true feelings? Claire’s phone dinged-- ‘ _Right on time_ ’-- with a message from Moira. Every morning she’s receive another apology text from the last person she wants to talk to.

Moira may have been sure that she liked girls, but Claire? Sure, she’s experimented, but only once or twice in college. Both times were just quick, drunken flings. Love was cruel to her. Every time she thinks that she might have found someone an outbreak ends up either making them heartless or dead. Surely she didn’t even think of Moira like that, right?

That’s what she was stuck on. Has she ever felt feelings towards Moira?

Claire could still feel her heart breaking just at the thought of Steve and the events that happened to him. Did she even love him? They were surviving on a zombie infested island, and in the end he tried to kill her. She couldn’t help but to still feel guarded. The lonely nights were getting hard, but even if she did try a relationship with Moira… would the younger girl know what she was getting into?

Questions continued to swim in Claire’s head as she forced herself out of bed to at least look like a functional human being who wasn’t stuck on some… girl. Before she knew it, she was in her car and driving to the store.

The one time that Moira decided to take a chance to be honest with her feelings and she ruins everything. Moira just wanted her friend back, it’s five days without communication, and it was driving her nuts. They message each other everyday, whether it’s text, call, video chat, they were always talking. When Moira got her heart broken or had a bad date, Claire was the first person that she’d go to for whatever it was. And now, she scared her best friend away. This hurt more than any other heartbreak she’s had. All she felt like doing was lying in bed and continuing to wait for an answer.

Claire was walking up and down the store aisles, her mind still swimming, her eyes skimming over the items on the shelves. Every now and then she’ll just throw something in her cart to look normal. She hates to admit that this was causing her so much trouble, and she couldn’t think of anyone to go to. Chris was missing and the entire BSAA was still looking for him, Leon was just off the radar, and she didn’t think any of her friends at work would be very helpful without wanting all the details. Barry… She supposed she could talk to him, but she didn’t know how he’d react. It took awhile for him to get used to Moira not being straight. That’s when it hit her, with a pack of baby Elmo spoons in her hand, she dropped it in the cart and rushed to the check out. Of course the cashier got a very weird look, as did Claire, when her cart was consisted of things from the meat Dept, Vegan options, Baby stuff, and even canned dog food. She didn’t even own a dog!

* * *

 

Luckily Claire was able to message Kathy, who was one of the most loving people she’s ever met, and Barry wasn’t around. She loved Barry, but he did take awhile just to be fine with Moira liking girls. So after parking her car in front of the house, she waltzed right into the house and immediately found Kathy in the kitchen making what looked to be muffins. She wasn’t at all surprised to see a distressed Claire who just walked over and sat down at one of the chairs on the kitchen island.

“So what’s been going on?” Kathy asks, still filling the cupcake tins.

“So… I’ve been hanging out with this girl. She’s one of my best friends, and you know me! I don’t really… I just don’t date! She’s one of my best friends and she just… confesses her love for me and I don’t… I don’t know what to do or how I feel.” The worlds just rambled out of her mouth.

Kathy simply raised her eyebrows and looked up at Claire who was now staring at the ground. She had a gut feeling she knew who this ‘friend’ was, and also had a feeling that Claire didn’t realize that this ‘friend’ happened to be home.

“Well the most you can do is tell her that you’re not sure if you feel the same way right now. Whoever this girl is they’re definitely important by the way you’re reacting.” This got Claire to finally look up at Kathy with a sigh.

“They’ve been my best friend for awhile, things already aren’t going to just go back to normal after this.”

“Barry was my best friend for a long time before we started dating.” Kathy started, her eyes going back down to her tray of uncooked muffins and grabbing a sliced almonds to put on top. “He told me how he felt, and I immediately knew I felt the same way. Now look at us, married with two beautiful daughters.”

Claire was quiet as she thought over Kathy’s comment. She knew right away when Barry confessed, and since she’s questioning after Moira confessed… _Does that mean I don’t feel the same way?_

After what felt like an eternity, Claire just started to feel guilty. She didn’t want to hurt Moira, but she didn’t want to lie to her either.

“Claire, you don’t have to know how you feel right now. Don’t lie to yourself if you really aren’t comfortable with it, but at the very least do whatever you can to save the friendship. You should know how hard it is making friends as adults.” Kathy chuckles as she finally put the muffins in the oven.

* * *

 

8 days later

Eight days since Claire has spoken to Moira, and she’s been trying to find the strength to let her down easy. The more and more that Claire thought, the more and more nervous she got to face the 20 year old. It was just this nagging feeling that she had, was she doing the right thing? Although she felt horrible, she still picked up her cell phone and with shaky hands, typed out the message

 

Claire: ‘I need to talk to you. Park @3?’                                                                                                                                                                                         Delivered 1:18pm

 

She could feel her heart thumping in her chest as she paced around her living room, but immediately she got a reply from Moira.

 

Moira: ‘Okay’                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Received 1:19pm

 

She was going to see Moira finally, and she was almost positive that it terrified her. Even though there was quite a bit of time before they were to meet, she got in her car and drove to the park where Moira took her. Claire just wanted to get this done and over with and hope they could go back to being friends. She climbed the hill they were at and sat beneath the tree, her hands shaking as she gripped the letter she wrote about about what she’s been feeling. A letter to let her down easy. The sky was starting to get cloudy and it almost looked as if it was about to rain. ‘ _Just my luck’_ Claire thought to herself as she watched the sky.

After some time passes, Claire could hear footsteps walking up to her spot. Then the sound of someone settling down beside her, and she took a deep breath. Claire looked over at Moira, and immediate guilt started setting in. They both just sat in silence for a moment, Moira staring at the papers in Claire’s hand, and Claire staring at the girl. The way the light hit her eyes, making them look almost golden. How Moira would bite a specific spot on her lip whenever she was confused about something. Even the way how she was holding herself, trying to be strong, but obviously she wasn’t herself. She’s never seen Moira this vulnerable, and it just made things even worse. Claire took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment, before turning back to her to face her fears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said I'd try to post by the end of the week, but that's obviously not going to happen. I mean if it does, great. Will it all be Moira/Claire? No, because I'm not THAT creative, but I do have plenty of other fandoms and ships that I'd like to take a hand in writing stuff. I'm honestly not sure how often I'll be able to write. Working and in the process of moving out. 
> 
> I also made a tumblr so if people want to send a message or help me out by possibly sending in prompts, that'd be helpful! 
> 
> https://100-letters-by-me.tumblr.com/


	3. The End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The end of a journey

5 years later

Claire always hated weddings. She hated seeing how happy people were, how love filled the air, it only reminded Claire of how lonely she had felt. The chapel was decorated in white ribbons and yellow tulips at the ends of the pews with golden petals littering the aisle, and a beautiful archway was covered in vines where the bride will walk through when the time comes. The sides of the chapel had large, stained glass of religious scenes, the sunlight coming through and showering the pews and all the guests in soft pastel colors. She didn’t even know why she was here in the first place. Wait, she did. She was here for Moira.

Her heart ached, was this what it was supposed to feel like? Weddings were supposed to be happy, but she just wanted to turn tail and run. This was a mistake. Why did she agree to this? Everyone was there, watching her, waiting for some sort of reaction. How was she supposed to react in this situation? Before she knew it, the music started playing. She took a deep breath, everyone turning towards the archway. First came Natalia, in her golden, strapless dress with a bouquet of tulips, next came Polly wearing an identical dress and bouquet. They slowly walked down the aisle, taking their designated places beside the altar. Claire couldn’t breathe now, it was finally becoming so… real.

Then out stepped Moira, holding the arm of Barry Burton. Clad in a white dress that hugged her figure perfectly. It was simple, yet the most elegant gown that Claire has ever seen. The dress clung into her curves, but draped around her feet. Her veil was long, flowing down behind her. Patterns of roses and leaves weaved into the silk. She had the most beautiful look in her eyes. Excitement, joy, love. A bouquet of bright, red roses. This was it. This was the moment that Claire knew Moira had been waiting for since she was a little girl, to walk down the aisle with her father. And at the end, was Claire. In her white shirt, grey vest and blazer, with a black tie. She could feel the tears start welling up in her eyes, a large grin plastered across her face. Her hair was still short, above her shoulders, and it was Moira’s idea for her to keep her hair that way. This was all Moira’s idea. Claire always had stage fright, but the sight of Moira with so much love in her eyes was enough to calm her down. This was their family, everyone in the room. Gathered to see the Redfields and Burtons finally become one. 

And just for a single second, Claire’s eyes skimmed over the crowd. Her friends were there, her brother, her parents, Sherry Birkin. Moira immediately stepped in front of her view, and Claire was brought back to the present. She was here, in a chapel in Canada, about to marry the woman who she nearly lost five years ago because she was too scared to admit her true feelings. 

“Are you ready?”Claire whispers over to her very-soon-to-be wife, both of them looking as happy as ever. She only received a gentle nod in response.  
The minister started speaking but neither of the women were listening. Instead they stood in front of the altar, hand in hand, both lost in their own little world. The minister only got their attention after having to call Moira’s name to begin her vows. She took a deep breath as Claire gave her hands an encouraging squeeze.

“I remember the day we met, how you got me a carrot to finish my poorly-named snowman when I was only a kid. I must’ve really worked my charm because you kept coming back to the house after that, and it’s a bit odd that my wife will have literally seen me grow up.” She for a moment as everyone in the room, including Claire chuckle at the comment, “You never showed up to family events before we met, but after that you were over what felt like every week. You’ve been there for me so much more than anyone in this room can imagine, and we’ve had to battle through literal hell to just be here today. But I wouldn’t trade a thing.”

That was when Claire glanced at the minister, who gave her a confirming nod to start her vows now. She faced her soon-to-be wife and the only thing she could think of was the day that she gave Moira the note, and the vows she has previously written were now leaving her mind as she started speaking from the heart.

“Five years ago to this day, we met up at the park. You sent me a message saying that, for some reason, you had a day of surprises for me and you set up a picnic for us. I was having a rough day and I knew you applied for TerraSave, but I wasn’t expecting you to tell me that you were in love with me. I got scared because I didn’t know my feelings for you.” Moira winced at the memory which immediately made Claire bring a hand up to caress her cheek before she continued speaking, “I wrote you a note a week later to let you down. Well then life decided to throw us the hardest curveball imaginable. I thought I saw you die so when I took that jump I didn’t care if I lived.” 

There was a long silence, the happy couple communicating their with language of nods and winces before Claire continued.

“When I woke up, you couldn’t imagine the guilt I felt. I knew I loved you and every choice I made up until right then was a mistake, I should been honest with myself from the beginning. I love you, Moira.” 

With that, the minister let them exchange rings and before they knew it they shared their first married kiss and were running for escape out of the chapel through a storm of rice and petals, their families on either side of the pathway cheering for them. But their senses were on each other, they didn’t hear the cheers and laughter around them. They were too busy focused on each other, how bright their smiles were, the pure happiness in their eyes.

After years of torture and recovery, they were now going to spend the rest of their lives together. Making up for lost time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have some explaining to do for my super long hiatus, which I am truly sorry for.
> 
> First off, thank you for reading this chapter. It's been mostly written for most of the duration that I've been gone and the first couple of months was simply because I had authors block and got super busy. The for the past 5 months I've been dealing with a traumatic event that happened last Dec as well as having moved out, working two jobs, and have weekly business meetings I have to go to. 
> 
> But I do plan on writing some more, though I will no longer make promises on when chapters will come out.


End file.
